6 Reasons Sprint Triathlons Are Good Prep for a Long-Distance Race
Racing is some of the best preparation one can do. Sometimes there is no better way to test yourself than to simply get in there and do it! In a previous article, I talked about how to maximize your time in training races.
Many times, Ironman athletes lean toward 70.3 races as their preferred events to use as preparation for the big race. However, there are lots of reasons why the shorter sprint-distance races can be just what you need to get ready for going long.
1. They Are Cheap
Triathlon entry fees cost a bit more than dinner at the local pub, but sprint triathlons are some of the least expensive races you can enter. Register early and you can shave a few dollars off the price tag. This is good for the wallet and might allow you to rent that sweet pair of race wheels!
2. Local Events
Traveling can take a lot out of you. Assuming you are already going to take a few rest days before and maybe after the event, and adding in a long car drive, some less than ideal road food and an unfamiliar hotel bed, and you have the makings of a week or more of stress—and not the good kind.
Not to mention all of this stuff costs money (see number 1). Usually you can find many local sprint tri’s to compete in. That can leave you the afternoon to spend with the family, catch a movie, or even get in some additional training miles.
3. Shorter Rest/Recovery Period
Even if you are looking to set the course on fire, two days of easy tapering for a sprint can be enough to put down a solid effort. Also with the shorter distance, particularly in the run, your recovery time will be pretty low. Some athletes can get back to training after only one day.
4. More Opportunity for Training After the Race
With the normal early tri start time and a race that only lasts an hour to 1.5 hours, there is plenty of time to get in some more training after the race. If it’s close enough, maybe you can ride your bike home, or even ride there and back.
If not, a quick cool down after the race, maybe a ride on the bike or a swim, might be in order. You can still make it home for lunch and have a few hours for some more training of your choice.
For example, last fall I did a sprint tri in Denver. The day basically boiled down to the following: 1+ hour drive, 1 hour race, 30-minute cool down on bike before the awards ceremony, 1+ hour drive home, and I still had time for a three-hour ride with time enough to make dinner for my wife. That’s over four hours of training and brownie points with the family. It doesn’t get any better!
5. Great Threshold Workout
Many triathletes, even long-distance athletes, are realizing the benefits of training their threshold. These races provide a great environment for this type of training. Sprint tri’s can vary in length, but generally you’re looking at something like: 750-meter swim, 12- to16-mile bike, and a 5K run. Depending on the course and conditions, completing the race can take about an hour for the speedy folks and around an hour and a half for average triathletes with a few races under their belts.
I like to pace these races as a long, hard, threshold effort. Every “zone” you have should have a range. Your threshold on the bike may be 250 watts, however you threshold zone may be 235 to 265, so you have some room to work with here.
Go for your threshold pace on the swim (1,000-meter time trial effort), a solid, normalized, threshold effort on the bike and then see what you’ve got for the run. If you can knock off a threshold pace for the run at the end of an hour or more race effort, you’re looking pretty good in my book. Not to mention you just did a killer threshold training session.
If you didn’t hit your threshold run pace, you should start looking into why. Did you go too hard on the bike or swim? Too many spikes in power on the bike? Just got fatigued? If so, how far off your pace were you? This can be valuable information and data for future training and give you some clues to where your weaknesses may be.
6. Sprint Tri’s Will Make Your Ironman Feel Like Slow Motion
Sprint triathlons are hard. Don’t let short distance and larger numbers of beginners fool you. Coming out of the water and getting right into a threshold effort on the bike is tough to execute. With the high intensity it is very easy to go too hard and blow up.
On the other hand, if you take too long to find your rhythm and “warm up” into any part of the race, you’ll lose a huge amount of time. That leg could be over by the time you get into the groove. Becoming efficient and comfortable at this will pay you back.
Being able to blast through transition and find your pace and rhythm at these speeds and high intensities will make your longer races feel like Sunday brunch. You will be far more in control, minimizing the chance of making an error and maximizing your ability to execute your race to perfection.
You may not find that a training race is on the schedule and that’s fine. You may have spent the last three years doing short triathlons, and now it’s time to try a longer one. It always depends on the individual. We are all different. We have different strengths and weaknesses, different backgrounds and resources.
But next time you’re looking for some racing to do before the big one, give a local sprint triathlon a go. You’ll learn more about yourself than you think.
Train hard, train safe!
Source: Eric Kenney EKendurancecoaching.com
